Trump Administration Ordered Statement Recognizing Election Result to Be Held Back After Flávio Bolsonaro's Claims - Folha de S.Paulo

The Donald Trump administration decided to hold back the release of a statement congratulating the Brazilian people on Sunday’s (25) presidential election after candidate Flávio Bolsonaro declared that he did not recognize Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory and called for the election to be annulled.

A draft of the statement was ready at the U.S. State Department, as is customary following elections around the world. But instructions were given to delay its release and "assess" the situation after Flávio said in an interview on Sunday night that there had allegedly been irregularities because of Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin’s decision to extend voting hours.

Asked about the matter, the U.S. Embassy in Brazil gave no indication of when the statement would be released.

In 2022, during the Joe Biden administration, the United States was one of the first countries to congratulate President Lula on his election victory, amid fraud allegations made by Jair Bolsonaro.